Gwen Severance, AuD (center), receives the AFA’s Professional Leadership Award from Tabitha Parent Buck, AuD, (right) ASHS Associate Professor and Audiology Chair, and Nancy N. Green, AFA Senior Advisors Council member and ASHS Adjunct Faculty.

During August graduation exercises at the Arizona School of Health Sciences (ASHS), Gwen Severance, AuD, and Michelle Pollihan, AuD, received Professional Leadership awards from the Audiology Foundation of America (AFA), Lafayette, Ind. The award honors graduating AuD students nominated by the ASHS faculty.

Award winners are chosen based on their positive attitude and strong work ethic throughout their AuD program, involvement in professional activities to promote the profession and patient care, and dedication to public service.

Michelle Pollihan, AuD, received the AFA’s Professional Leadership Award during graduation ceremonies at ASHS.

Severance, a distance education student at ASHS, is an educational audiologist with the Los Angeles Unified School District. She was recognized for her dedication to students with hearing loss, skill in counseling families, enthusiasm and leadership in making presentations about audiology to middle school students, and dedicated time spent as a community volunteer.

Pollihan, a graduate of ASHS’s residential program, was recognized for her volunteer work in Mexico diagnosing and fitting hearing instruments; passion, enthusiasm and leadership dedicated to the audiology profession; and volunteer efforts in performing hearing screenings and educating the public in Arizona and Oregon about the importance of hearing protection in noisy environments.

The AFA empowers audiologists to be independent and autonomous practitioners by supporting their educational preparation, professional practice, and leadership development.

Source: AFA